6.54 Joel -- Judgment on the Nations

Joel presents a very negative destiny for the Gentiles. In chapter 3, the Day of the Lord is described as the gathering of all nations in the Valley of Jehoshaphat, or Valley of Decision. The nations will come to make war, not realizing that the Lord is actually summoning them to judgment. The Valley of Jehoshaphat seems to be named for the incident in 2 Chr 20, where Moab, Ammon, and Mount Seir gathered in force against Judah in the days of King Jehoshaphat (reigned ca 850). In the battle, God annihilated Israel's enemies, Israel took great plunder, and fear of the Lord came upon other nations.

In Joel's prophecy, the nations will be judged by one criterion -- how they have treated Israel:

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"I will gather all nations and bring them down to the
Valley of Jehoshaphat.
There I will enter into judgment against them
concerning my inheritance, my people Israel,
for they scattered my people among the nations
and divided up my land" (Joel 3:2).

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These nations cast lots for the Jews, traded boys for prostitutes and girls for wine (Joel 3:3), looted the Temple treasures, and sent the Jews of Judah into exile. For these sins, rather than idolatry, they will be held accountable.

This chapter is one of the explicitly Israel-supremacist passages of the Old Testament. Usually, God says that both Israel and the Gentiles shall be punished for their idolatry. Here, however, He declares that those who plundered Israel shall themselves be punished. And, contrary to Isaiah, who was busy turning swords into plowshares, Joel reverses the process: